The Haunted Camellia Lantern
by JeffC FTW
Summary: Their love was forbidden, but no one - not even death - could part them. Based upon a well-known Japanese ghost story, set in the Edo Period.
1. The Lovers

**Besides "Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan", there is another famous ghost story in Japan: "Botan Dōrō" (The Haunted Peony Lantern), and it is both horrifying and romantic. Deals with themes like sex with the dead and forbidden relationships with spirits. There are many different versions, but this new short story will concentrate on a movie from 1998, "Otsuyu: The Haunted Lantern".**

**Itachi and Izumi love each other very much, but when one of them goes out on a mission, the wrong message is heard that they died...leading to the other to take their own life out of heartbreak and sorrow, only to come back during Obon (the festival of the dead) so they can rekindle their love which was deprived. **

**So, yeah: major character death in here. Bring in a tissue box and/or a strong drink (if you're legal), like I always say. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Botan Dōrō.**

Chapter One

The Lovers

_About time. Now I can go home, if I can beat the storms. _

It was about to turn into the third month of summer, when the raining would be at its worst amid this torridity. At least she had on a lightweight, deep purple _yukata_ because of this weather. But it was a shame that her hair in its elaborate updo didn't give away the swelter within the locks.

If Izumi was lucky, she would end up home by the next day, though if she also got lucky, she could find a nearby shrine and rest for the night. The issue was there were plenty of bandits about that you never saw coming.

Her mother had a weak heart, so the herbs she sought could be found in Kusa Village, and that was where she'd been. But she hadn't been able to afford a palanquin since she left home, and that meant she had to be careful with the funds until she returned.

The sky, when she awoke from sleeping curled up before the statue of the Buddha, was bright blue if with some silver-gray clouds that mostly blocked the sun. _Could rain today, which means I have to get going as soon as possible. _And so Izumi quickly gathered her umbrella, her herbs wrapped up, and her pack on her back with her water flask and what was left of her journey meal.

Although, when she was leaving the shrine, it was then that she encountered a blind priest who was kind...until the words he spoke to her which haunted her even now.

"A woman alone in these parts...it's not wise to be alone and without a man to protect her."

And looking into his _white eyes_ \- stark white around the black centers, as if they'd been burned starkly - made her heart freeze. "Your heart belongs to someone. You care deeply for him as he cares deeply for you. But...it is not to be. Your love won't be realized in this lifetime. Such feelings are too strong for this world. It will bring nothing but sorrow..."

The man he spoke of was waiting for her if away from home like she, on a very important mission. Even if their ranks differed, but he was promising to her that he would risk abandoning his family prestige just for her. They could be happier than they were now -

Her thoughts were interrupted when she finally found herself along the bank of the river, the obstacle being the two men who catcalled out to her and made the rudest remarks ever...and that meant she was in danger. She should have counted that something like this would happen.

Her dagger was hidden beneath her waistline, but would it be enough?

~o~

"Come on, brother. We got to get home before it gets too hot," Sasuke said as he slung his pack behind his back, then picked up the umbrella before him.

_Thank the gods. And I was just having a very "pleasant" dream. _

Except as soon as he awoke, his body ached, and he wracked his brain to try and recall what happened exactly. Yet in the end, it didn't matter a damned bit. Bitterly, he picked himself up after stretching himself. They'd pitched a sleep on the porch of this _ryokan_ inn that had been full and left them outdoors for the night. Their job had been completed after many months - after the cherry blossoms completed their cycle - so now they would go home at last.

Sasuke ended up getting a trinket for his intended, the daughter of the village healer, which was a hair ornament fixed with a natural pearl from the sea, wrapped in golden rose metal and accented with tiny green gems. He was not on their father's favorite list, and Fugaku could care less what he did with his life as long as he followed orders in terms of their lord's wishes.

As for Itachi, the eldest, it meant he was scrutinized the most. At least Sasuke was free to be himself, though he wished he could say the same for the women of their time.

Speaking of women, their mother had been brutally raped and murdered. Their father loved her so much that he entrusted his own sons to be out there and find the perpetrator - who was none other than a notorious bandit, one of many which were common in these times, but it was never anything new. Nevertheless, Mikoto's loss was a bitter strain on both her husband and their sons.

Yet the pain wouldn't go away, and the death of the monster wasn't going to bring her back.

Now he and his younger sibling were walking along the Nakano River, which meant they were almost home, but it was here that they came across a commotion in the form of two unscrupulous characters and a lone female fighting to defend herself with a dagger only.

He recognized the young woman in purple - _Izumi._

His heart erupted with a rage, and his instincts told him to help her out. While he trusted her to protect herself, he knew she wouldn't last against two men alone.

And his brother joined in, the three of them against those two, and it was hilarious that they got scared simply because of the odds against them. Smirking, Itachi threw his ponytail behind his shoulder before putting his sword behind his back, Sasuke doing the same. They turned their attentions then to the least likely person they expected to see on the way home.

"Itachi Uchiha, why am I not surprised to see you?" she asked with a light laugh. "And you, too, Sasuke."

The younger grunted. "We finished off some business. We took care of the one who violated our mother."

Her eyes darkened despite her softening features. "I knew you both would do it. She didn't deserve it; I loved her more than..." Izumi stopped, troubled now. But she didn't need to finish. He knew that she had been belittled by Fugaku Uchiha since her birth, because her mother - a distant cousin on his side - had left the Uchiha family to marry a simple, honest baker. Therefore, Hazuki was shunned, and so was her daughter.

Did it stop Itachi from meeting her and becoming childhood friends - and eventually falling in love with her despite his father's disapproval?

He had every intention of giving up his privileged life if he had anything to say about it. He had promised her, but there was no answer yet on _how_...

Sasuke cleared his throat. "Brother, are we going home now or what? Sakura is going to need this." He held up the hairpin between his forefinger and thumb, and seeing it, Izumi giggled behind her hand, then commented on how his bride-to-be would love it, indeed.

Itachi found himself looking at her luxurious woodland mane in the elaborate headwear, noting that only a soft blue ribbon adorned it. He frowned; he should have remembered to get her something like Sasuke when he had the chance. That was what he got for focusing too much on the mission, necessary as it had been.

When getting across the river to the other side, there was no bridge, and this was a quicker shortcut compared to the many more hours of travel ahead of them if they continued further down for the nearest bridge.

To not get her light garment soaked, Izumi wound up riding the Uchiha heir's back, not that it was anything uncomfortable. Though it was amusing to see Sasuke snort and hold back anything sarcastic as he had the light job of carrying their weapons while they managed through the river waters, which were calm at the moment. Usually, it was murderous as the storms of summer season, fast approaching towards the end, and Konoha would be hit with typhoons rather than great tidal waves from the sea.

"My mother's heart," Izumi told the brothers when she was asked why she was out here, leaving Kusa - which happened to be where they had been. "So, these herbs MUST help her. Then Sakura can make them into her medicine."

Well, there was no sense in her renting a palanquin alone, was there? They were almost home, so her mother's life would be saved in no time.

~o~

"I'm home, Mother."

It wasn't a surprise that Sakura Haruno, the village healer's adopted daughter, was there, trying one last effort to give Hazuki Miyazaki her usual medicine, but this would be the savior. And it was difficult to come by in these parts, so she was home now, and in time to not only save her mother, but for the festival of the ancestors.

That meant she could get around to painting lanterns with the seasonal flowers - as well as the one which was an emblem of the samurai way and the nobility.

"You always tell me I'm a lifesaver," Sakura told her as she was leaving with her pack of medicine, including the new one for the future, "but I'm going to tell you that you are this time, Izumi." She didn't even deserve to hear those words, considering the ones her mother's own relatives - who also were distantly her own - said about them, while everyone else in Konoha were warm and welcoming.

"You didn't have any trouble coming home, did you?" Hazuki asked as she reclined back in her cot while the daughter readied the rice porridge for illnesses.

Izumi shook her head, stirring the contents. "No, but I did end up going along with a certain pair of brothers who spared me the trouble of wasting what money I had left for a palanquin."

No doubt Hazuki knew WHO she was talking about, for her eyes lit up. "Oh, that Itachi Uchiha and his brother...but damn it, damn that father of theirs," she hissed, turning her face in the other direction. "If only we weren't restricted from countering back. I always knew you and dear Itachi were a perfect match, and he has made it clear to me that if he had anything to say about it, he would renounce his position and run off with you."

It was meaningful to know that her mother, the only family she had left, would know how much that man she'd known since she was a child meant to her. It started out as a simple infatuation, but it only had grown stronger over the years. Eventually, it softened from the foolish mad blushing and insipid, secret giggling, but that didn't mean the sensations in her intensely beating heart weren't there. If his father wasn't here, it could just be them...

She'd just gotten home, and she was too tired to think such bothersome thoughts, so she settled on calming herself down by going into her room to get to work on her lanterns, after kissing her mother on the brow and wishing her a restful afternoon sleep.

_This one flower, no matter if it's spring or summer, is perfect for all. _

~o~

_He had been livid with his father before, but now he wanted to just get away from the house, away from Fugaku. If Sasuke was going to do whatever he wanted - like slipping out anytime he wanted, to be with his woman - then _he _had the right to. _

_He was going to the one place where he was no doubt welcome, but he had to do it under the cover of night. Plus, it was a perfect time since Fugaku had gone off to the pleasure district tonight - not to be unfaithful to his wife - and wouldn't come back until the early hours of the morning, or maybe when dawn broke. Either way, this was his chance. And it gave him an opportunity to admire the lavish scenery of pink landscaping the skies as well as littering across the streets. Lanterns and bonfires were lit, illuminating the temples and houses. _

_It was a pity cherry blossoms had no scent. They were used as pickled appetizers and sweets, even wines, and he intended to retrieve that for HER before he arrived. _

_Along the way, he saw the events in a couple noble houses: weddings were taking place, and it was this time of year when the flowers and their leaves were in hot water and drank rather than green tea at wedding ceremonies. The use also involved sweets...and what came to mind was a certain one he picked up from the bakery, not just for the two of them, but also for her mother who saw him as the son she never had. _

_Her mother was the one he purchased them from, and she told him her daughter was at home working, which was a thriving relief. _

The cherry blossom is a symbol for both joyful and sad aspects in life: fleeting beauty and shortness of the lifespan...yet it is for the gentle and pure of heart. Just like Sakura herself...

...and Izumi.

_He now found her home, where there was only light in a single room - _her room_. She was skilled as an artist, though he was concerned she might be overworking herself, since he knew her to keep up the work in the late hours when she was in a somber mood. He wouldn't be surprised if his father or someone else in the Uchiha had something to do with it. _

_"...Izumi."_

_She was in a simple white sleeping robe, her hair let down her back, being a canvas of moonlight behind the forest. She looked up at the sound of her name, and when she saw him, she nearly dropped her paintbrush and would have destroyed her long hours of hard work. It would have been a shame if ill fortune befell on the masterpiece he was enflamed by, more than at the sweet and indulgent _sakura _blossoms on the white lanterns hanging about the wall to her east. _

_This one was of _camellias_. _

_Nothing else said early spring besides the camellia, and she chose to brush every single color because of their meanings. Separately, the pink and yellow ones meant longing while the red was passionate and desirable; together, they formed the message of love and romance. The pure white ones were also to bring good luck, but were generally used amongst funeral flora in mourning. _

_However, these flowers were also the icons of an honorable death for samurai warriors. _

_Itachi shoved the meaning of his class aside and walked in, after slipping off his sandals, and closed the door behind him with one hand. He held out the dish of sweets he presented as a gift: the pink-colored rice cakes wrapped up in pickled cherry blossom leaves. _

_Her eyes widened. She quickly put down the paintbrush in its place with the other colors in their jars, and turned around on her knees to look up at him, then bowed her head in respect and greeting, but she didn't have to do that. It was just the two of them, and the sight of her was sweeter than the treats in his hands. _

_He would rather have her in them than these things. _

_He would rather take off that robe and see her naked beauty, run his fingers through her silky hair, and kiss those lips as well as everything she had. Then he would sink between the columns of paradise, joining him to her in the rapture that awaited them. _

_It had rained a little that morning, but now the clouds had grown darker and released the powerful flood of emotions between them. _

~o~

Every time he had a disagreement with Fugaku for whatever reason, he would slip off when the man roared at him over choosing a suitable bride for the clan and the sake of their lord.

_"You cannot marry Hazuki and Mitsuo's daughter; she's a mere artist! Her mother abandoned us for a commoner. You want to forsake your own honor, bring shame to this family and be a scoundrel?"_

Well, Sasuke could do what he wanted since he was only the second son, but if Itachi left, that meant he would also be forced to kowtow to being a respectable heir, forsake his ways and also abandon the woman he loved. The elder brother couldn't wish that; if only all four of them could run away together.

Here he was now, in her arms, after one of many nights they would steal as often as they could. So far, no conception that he was aware of, so it was difficult to be careful and not make any children when they were not yet wed. That first night during the cherry blossom season had started it all. Love blossomed in the best time of year for all couples in the capital. If only things couldn't be so fleeting...

Itachi made his resolution on this summer night - his first night after returning with his brother, swearing at his father's foolishness at proposing a bride for his eldest son upon his return, and promising tenderly to the sleeping woman in his arms. Custom be damned for all he cared.

_Tomorrow, I will talk to my father, and I shall marry you while this festival lasts. _

**So, this story is set during the Edo period of Japan - a time of strict social class, when women were repressed, and peaceful times when samurai weren't the fearsome warriors of the feudal era, but eventually became ronin (hired hands, bandits, and others merchants and fishermen). It was also an era of superstition and fantastical tales. **

**"Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan", came out during this time period, and so did "Botan Dōrō****" as well as "Banchō Sarayashiki" (The Dish Mansion at Banchō) which is the third of these great ghost stories of Japan. They are called the Big Three of Ghost Stories. :D**

**When Itachi walked by the noble homes and saw the weddings, the drinking of **_**sakurayu**_** (salt-pickled blossoms in hot water) is part of festive events like weddings instead of green tea, and since cherry blossoms are in early spring, this seemed perfect. :3**

**The desserts he brings to Izumi are **_**sakuramochi.**_

**This is the second Halloween-themed fic for the fandom this month, so please review this story as a treat.**


	2. The Festival

**No reviews. (puppy pout) That makes me sad. Pretty please? Lots o lovin' detail. **

**Warning: a disturbing moment at the end, but I refuse to spoil. **

Chapter Two

The Festival

When he returned home the next morning before dawn, he found that Fugaku had also not yet arrived back, which was a relief, for he was not in the mood for lectures.

Sasuke came back, as always asking him how his night went - making sure none of the servants loyal to their father were around - and Itachi asked him in return, making them both laugh.

"I hope you're going to stand up to Father when he gets home. It's like he's going to do this for the rest of his days: being with a new woman as often as he can, since he loved Mother too much and wouldn't take another wife if he wanted to."

_And to take his own sons away from the women they love? It's a fate just as worse as death. _

"Well, Sasuke, you took the words from my mouth. I'm going to tell Father that whether he likes it or not, Izumi shall be my wife, because she IS half-Uchiha. It's better than naught," the elder Uchiha declared, sitting down on his knees just as the morning tea and breakfast rice were brought in. The servant girls in gray bowed their heads and gracefully stood, then walked off with haste, anxious to apparently get away from them. _These girls and their people may be inferior, but it's not right to treat them with death held above their heads for the smallest of things. But when Father is gone, I shall see to it that they all receive fair treatment. _

Unfortunately, he would never have his chance today, for the feudal lord's messenger arrived at their doorstep with the order: he, Itachi, was to retrieve the head of the one - or ones - who killed two of their own fellow samurai.

His orders alone, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

Disgruntled, Itachi had no choice but to grab his swords, his life pack, and the shield for his heart as he had to put anything personal aside until he returned. He swore he would deal with Fugaku in the event of time.

He said goodbye to Izumi and her mother, even giving her a proud, passionate kiss on the lips for the other customers in the bakery to see. Hazuki, whose health seemed to be improving, was unable to resist the secret laugh behind her hand.

No one noticed the unwanted, secret visitor who was outside the structure's entrance. Secretly sneering and swearing it would put an end to this once and for all.

His comrades who were murdered and robbed were Shiranui Genma and Yuugao Uzuki - a rare female in their ranks, and a mighty one, too - who had survived the field, but they couldn't have foreseen this disgraceful end as the Uchiha and the rest couldn't have. Even Lord Sarutobi was seething.

He returned home days later with the head wrapped up and with some blood on his white and black garments - the head of the bandit who had been an accomplice to the one who wronged his mother - victorious and rewarded. And in time for the Obon festival to finally take place.

The next few days and nights would be when the spirits of the ancestors and the recently departed would come and visit relatives, friends and loved ones, accepting the offerings made at the home and temple altars. He and Sasuke got ready for the occasion, together planning to personally paint the lanterns of the Uchiha ancestors - and one for their mother if she were to visit them in spirit - before hanging them, attaching wind chimes to them, as well as placing the one for Mikoto at the altar and the one for the past Uchiha outside the house.

However, on the day Itachi returned, he received the most depressing news ever when Sasuke and their father approached him. His heart fell and shattered to irreparable pieces. This couldn't even be happening...

Izumi and her mother had _left _Konoha and moved elsewhere, leaving the bakery in the hands of the Akimichi family whom they were partners with.

_Without so much as a final goodbye...why did they have to LEAVE? And more importantly, why did she have to leave _ME?!

And it took so much effort to not curse at his father when Fugaku told him it was for the best, and far better than them living in the same village while his son would soon be connected to another, right after this festival was over.

"I was in negotiations while you were away, son, and the daughter of the Yamanaka clan is a promising candidate..." But the words fell on Itachi's ears. He couldn't bear to think about such things, so he pretended while only nodding and humming "obediently". Fugaku didn't seem to notice or care, though Sasuke certainly did and narrowed his eyes with obvious loathing.

Seeing his brother with Sakura, daughter of Tsunade - and honoring her birth parents who had been killed when she was still a young child - made him feel so sick that he made an excuse to retire early from the festivities, claiming to have become "sick in the stomach" and concerned he may have attracted something while on his assignment.

His senses locked away the exciting, graceful _bon odori_ dances on the stages which had been set, as well as the grave sites which were visited, and got all the more ill when the scent of the various sumptuous dishes were prepared for the offerings. And seeing the lanterns put into the ponds made him wish he could pray for a miracle and end this misery...

He had the bottle of sake beside him as he intended to go to sleep like this for a change - which was what Fugaku did shortly after his wife was taken from him - but his luck changed entirely that night.

Perhaps his senses were hazy, but in the distance as night befell darker, there was a small spark of light at the end of the path from the house into town. He blinked, but it grew larger and larger, even bobbing...until it became what he should have figured it was: _a lantern. _

Not just any lantern, but one that was painted with every colored _camellia._ He heard himself gasp. He hardly knew anyone who could bring an early spring flower into summer this way for the festival of the dead, except -!

The one who held the lantern happened to be _Hazuki_, who was robed in light green covered with maple leaves and peonies, the symbol for good fortune and courage. But the other who was in white splashed with purple camellias, chrysanthemums and blue greenery...

His voice was hoarse as he struggled to his feet, knocking over the half-empty sake bottle and the cup onto the grass.

"It can't be...Izumi?!"

~o~

The man she loved had left and gave her a passionate goodbye kiss. It was the most wonderful memento to leave with her until he returned...until his father had dared to approach her in her mother's bakery to humiliate her in front of the customers who were witnesses.

_"When my son returns, he will marry Ino Yamanaka, and the word will be final. You can either remain in this village but suffer at a distance, or you can leave and seek life elsewhere. You are merely a baker's daughter and will never be full Uchiha. Just like your mother made her bed and will sleep in it."_

Her hatred for Fugaku Uchiha strengthened that day, and she found it in her to pick up a knife and fling it at the doorway after him, much to the shock of her mother and the frightened customers. She didn't remember what happened next, except fell to her knees, laughing and sobbing hysterically - uncaring that her hair could be coming undone - but then heard her despairing mother's words in her ears.

_"That wretch called a cousin! He dares to look down on us just because we are POOR! What I do is not his concern or anyone else's in the Uchiha! Someone should poison his tea or his sake - or torture him if only he weren't a samurai! He has no real honor with this..."_

So, they had no choice but to leave, but it had been hell when they did. Her heart ached too much for the man she was forced to leave behind.

The festival of the ancestors and the dead was opportune, because then the cover of night would be the perfect manner to slip away and be at the Uchiha place, since there was no doubt Fugaku Uchiha would have an excuse to be with a new mistress in the pleasure house, since the death of his wife. His sanity rotted day by day, and it was that reason which gave her the taste for sweet revenge.

Her mother promised her the time would come, but not tonight.

No one paid them attention, but mother and daughter couldn't take any chances. Though, amid the honoring, she spotted Sasuke Uchiha with Sakura Haruno and old lady Tsunade. It made her happy to know those two were still together, openly and without shame. _You had better make it to the altar and receive Buddha's blessing. _

The lantern - the very lantern she made the first night they were actually together, and continued to make even when the flower itself was out of season - was in Hazuki's hand as she led the way towards the Uchiha house, daughter in tow. And when they finally approached their destination, _he _recognized it at once.

To see him the way he was - nearly drunk and off his horse, morose - made her sad, but then she laughed when he tried to stand as soon as their eyes made contact.

"Yes, Itachi...my love."

His voice was clear if hoarse. His skin was dark in color, clearly blushing with heat. Part of her thought that it was a bad idea since he was intoxicated, but it could clear in time. And she intended to remain here all night, with her mother outside on guard as promised, to resume what had been deprived between them. His father, even society's laws, could keep them apart no longer.

She rushed to his side and helped him stand - and he ended up smacking his face right into her chest, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and nearly bringing her to the ground with him. Laughing, Izumi helped him sit back down. "You drank too much tonight."

"I couldn't bear it anymore," he mumbled. "I came home, I was told by my father that you both had left, and I was...arranged with the Yamanaka heiress."

The fire had been sleeping but now rekindled at those words alone. _Your father...oh, that horrible man will soon receive his payment. _

And besides that, she was going to finally do everything in her power to make sure that her man would never marry someone else - but that would also mean taking him from his younger brother. That was going to break her heart; this was one of the most selfish decisions in life to ever make.

She'd been forced to leave him, so she wasn't going to let it happen again.

"I'm here now," Izumi promised heatedly, sitting down beside him. "If I have anything to say about it, I'm going to have a way to make your father eat his last, drink his last - and sink into the last woman so he can see us both together again."

In his haze, he still managed to look so shocked at her words. She'd gotten braver in her absence, confident that nothing would be in the way again...but their time was growing short. She had to leave before dawn, make sure that his brother didn't come home to see them together. She couldn't afford to offer an explanation so late in the night, and it would have to be a lie.

Her mother cleared her throat, giving the lantern a little bounce. "I don't mean to interrupt the reunion, but you lovebirds had better get inside while I stand guard out here," Hazuki said, walking up to them and then standing with her back turned, graceful and swift. The flame within the lantern flickered with each movement.

She and Itachi were inside in no time. The conversation began, but she had to intervene before it would get too far, saying that she and her mother were out and trying to live a new life, but it was so unbearable that she had to come back home. That seemed to be enough for him, given he was the kind of man to want to know every little detail before he accepted the final verdict.

The night would proceed this way: she gave him a solo dance that was reserved for a group in the _bon obori_, taking small steps rather than large strides, and twirling while she repeated the rhythm of left before the right foot and so on, flicking out her hands and raising them to make a circle, stretching her arms out, and finally clapping her hands.

"That was beautiful," Itachi breathed when she was done, and the tension increased when he stood up from his kneeling position to take her into his arms. "I missed you so much I could consume you right now! All I could think about was drinking myself to sleep, but now I am drunk for only you now..."

~o~

He feared that if he awoke in the morning, he would be dreaming. He would think that he drank so much he fantasied that SHE had been here, with her mother. He would have asked around and looked around for her even, but as soon as the gray hours of dawn were breaking, he awoke and saw she was still there, pulling her kimono layers back on, which reassured him that nothing was really wrong.

The feeling that lingered with him erased all pessimism that had plagued him. It convinced him that he didn't need to worry about his father for a longer while to come. They would deal with him in the near future, and then they would run away like they should have done a long time ago. _And if he thinks to disgrace Sasuke's heart in a similar way, then my brother should run away with Sakura, and all four of us can start over as a family. We will be there for each other. _

Her mother was on guard the whole night, which amazed him to no end. He should have wondered why at night only and until dawn, but he didn't have it in himself to ask questions. It didn't matter anymore, as far as he was concerned. What mattered was that he was with Izumi again.

To see her dance, enticing him to his core, and then to entangle in the cot, pulling off the fabrics from each other's bodies - he had missed her so much! So much that he devoted himself to rubbing his need against hers, slithering down her body like a snake to lick and kiss her plump breasts, then her slim stomach, and finally drink from her altar beneath the wild brush which caressed his nose. She was so sweet he wanted MORE than just that sake and wine he consumed earlier that night.

The moon was shining outside when they finally joined together, and it was the paradise he never thought they would have again. If only they could slip out and go to a hot spring together, make love in one, even when the hours were late.

Her hands roamed over his back, tore his hair from his tie to wove the locks through and through, and came down to caress his toned buttocks. He sighed with bliss at this love and tenderness. He never wanted the night to end...

He fell asleep in her arms, until she awoke him and said that she had to go away now, but vowed she would be back tonight. "Just wait for me again," she whispered sweetly before kissing his lips. Then she left him to drift off again into sleep. Without a care, he did just that.

_Father knows I had too much to drink. At events like these, it isn't uncommon. _

He slept naked but had his white _yukata_ on hand should he be called upon. He had such a pleasant night that he just wanted to sleep all day, forget about his duties...

"ITACHI!"

Damn it, whoever was speaking was loud as hell. Grunting through his teeth, Itachi blinked and then rubbed his eyes before looking up and seeing his younger brother kneeling at the foot of the cot. Sasuke looked disgruntled, seeing his older sibling like this, but it was apparent no one answered the calls. "Honestly, brother, you really were smashed. It's a good thing I got here before Father could. He saw you this morning, and he bellowed at me and the servants to get you on your feet today while he was gone doing some important business." He shook his head, snorting and smirking.

"Something tells me that something else happened - did you have a _woman _here last night, Itachi?" He frowned then. "It's not like you to resort to something like that, not since..."

Sasuke stopped talking then, leaving her name unspoken: _Izumi._

It was then that Itachi decided he could tell his brother when he felt better. As of now, he suddenly felt miserable as if coming down from high effects. But the tingling remained; it was like he was still dreaming.

"Yes, I drank so much and brought a woman back here. She left before dawn. It was more of a wild ride on a horse than I thought it would be." That was enough to earn a strangle of a laugh, though Sasuke's was awkward and uncertain.

~o~

Sasuke Uchiha had a terribly bad feeling the moment his elder brother told him he had a rough night with a woman he met and took to _his _bed in _their_ house - at risk of Fugaku finding out, but he also knew his elder sibling to know that he did everything in his power to be careful. _Even more than I do, most of the time. _

He had a wonderful night with Sakura and old lady Tsunade, and the woman he intended to marry as soon as possible was still morose in the eyes, but she was at peace with knowing her parents were in a better place yet coming to make their presence known. It would have made Sasuke feel better to know that his mother could do that, if Fugaku wasn't so distracted with having one prostitute after the other, or a random woman he met in the streets for his urges.

_Just like the bastard to be so lost in his grief that he emotionally neglects everything, while attending to "more important" stuff. _

And the night his eldest son and heir had was an example, therefore coming in to roar that this behavior might be acceptable temporarily because of the events, but he had to learn to get over that "baker's daughter" who left him. This Sasuke did suspect but wished he could prove without getting severely punished.

He was certain Fugaku had everything to do with Izumi leaving Itachi, using his brother's forced engagement as well as her status against her; she was HALF Uchiha, and it wasn't her fault. He damned the times and the customs, like he knew Itachi silently did. Hardly any secrets between brothers.

But now...he found the older naked in his room, hair undone and askew, and clearly flushed but _ashen_ beneath the eyes. He looked like he had a ravishing night with this mysterious woman he spoke about - but not naming her - and Sasuke couldn't help but think that Itachi could see her again. He'd said so this afternoon, after sleeping nearly the whole day, but it couldn't have just been from drinking too much sake. This wasn't typical...

Itachi just stopped caring for himself except for his hair, and that meant a newfound fear of neglecting the orders of their lord. He even ate and drank very little, as well as barely left the house.

Sasuke made the mistake of assuming it would just end there.

_One more day of this, and things seem to be...different. Itachi is getting paler and paler. He sleeps so much during the day after being up and away all night while we party and mingle, still doesn't name this woman because he doesn't have the strength, and Father is getting angrier. And I'm getting worried. _

_Based on whatever we see, we get the old lady and MAYBE a priest if it's what I think it is - _

It proceeded into one more night, but Sasuke knew better to be safe than sorry especially when it came to his friends and loved ones. He was going to sneak back to the house, telling his woman to go with him. And oh, gods, she was beautiful in the golden brown kimono covered with clouds and her floral namesake, as well as cranes. His was dark to blend in with the night, covered with bamboo, tea leaves and sets, and water waves.

"Sasuke, I swear, this is an invasion of privacy!" she insisted heatedly, hissing as he held her hand and rushed them both down the back streets.

"You're right, but this is my brother, and you should have seen him," he answered back. "I thought he could get better yesterday or even today; damn it, I should have seen it right away!" And pray it wasn't too late. Because this WAS the festival of the ancestors and the dead...

The couple arrived at his home, but he was shocked to see who was guarding the front of the house. Sasuke whispered the name to Sakura. "My gods, it's Hazuki - Izumi's mother!" And that had to mean -

They got their answer when they slipped around the back to get into the house, taking great care to not be heard, eventually finding their way towards Itachi's room where the moans and cries of passion could be heard. It took a real effort to not flinch; perhaps he should have listened to his beloved...

...but he thanked the stars that he also listened to his better judgment.

Of course, there was Itachi: completely nude and in the arms of a woman. No doubt the one he spoke of. But the voice was too familiar..._it IS Izumi. But how -?!_

"Oh, mmm, Itachi...that's my dear...give it to me!"

The rhythms looked so natural, but this was _not_ natural in the slightest. He gritted his teeth so tightly he almost shattered them. That woman - _Izumi _\- who now lay beneath his sickly looking brother...her face was a _skull_, with rotting flesh falling apart like a tattered tapestry.

**According to tradition in Obon, lanterns are placed in front of houses to guide the ancestors' spirits, dances called **_**bon odori **_**are performed, graves are visited and food offerings are made at home and temple altars. As well when the festival ends, lanterns float down rivers, lakes and seas to lead the spirits back into the afterlife. **

**If anyone wants to see the **_**bon odori**_** dance, look for this video: "Japanese spiritual dance Bon odori #5 : Tsukiji Hongwanji Bon odori ****築地本願寺盆踊り****Unexpected Tokyo #49"**

**And yyyeeeaah, I could have said what the disturbing moment was, but didn't want to spoil as I said. **

**The moment where Sakura tells her man it is an invasion of privacy - oh, yes, and the flashback of Fugaku telling Izumi she's just a baker's daughter - came from the final episode of the 2002 Japanese TV show "Kaidan Hyaku Shosetsu". **


	3. The Forbidden

**Alas, the final chapter. :D Enjoy and please leave final reviews! **

Chapter Three

The Forbidden

"He has the look _and_ stench of death about him."

Old lady Tsunade wrinkled her nose as she examined his brother herself, Sakura with her and mashing the herbs to help him regain his complexion and energy as much as they could. And the blind priest who had arrived the day before the Obon festival even began was here to assist with the rites.

And of course Fugaku was present this time, seething out of his ears as soon as he got wind of what was happening to his heir. Sasuke loathed him being here, due to the fact that he cared only about Itachi because of his vitality to the family name. "My own son fornicating with the evil one; I never thought I'd see the day...and it had to be HER."

"Fugaku, you are in no position under MY roof to talk to him that way," Tsunade snarled, whipping her head around to thin her lips and narrow her eyes. "And as for Izumi Miyazaki and her mother - did you forget that _you _were involved with that encounter in _their_ shop before they_ died_?" Her emphasis on three words made the air tenser, and it made Itachi's face fall deeper. He looked like he wasn't even there or hearing a word they were saying, didn't even speak except telling them all his story. About all the nights he spent with Izumi, even neglected himself, thought of nothing except her and WAITED for her.

_That woman - that DEAD woman - was Izumi. And our own father led her and her mother to...their deaths. Izumi took her own life, and her mother must have followed suit, but the bodies were found in the aftermath. The story was covered up before it could be spread - and a letter forged, saying mother and daughter had to leave, thus letting everything go to the Akimichi family - because Fugaku knew it would happen like this. Damn him..._

"With the help of a handful of servants, we buried the bodies and had to give them rites...but I thought it would end there," the man said, sounding guilty, but Sasuke refused to believe he was really capable of sympathy, and Sakura looked at him with pure poison. Her mother was ready to murder him, samurai or not.

And Itachi, despite his shadowed, sunken appearance - it was a shocking change from the mighty young warrior the younger brother knew - curled his lip in a snarl.

"You're no father of mine. You took away the woman I loved - and she came back because of me."

The old, blind priest "looked" his way, expression unchanged, but his tone spoke volumes. "...I see. You're the one. I encountered a young woman not many weeks ago in the country side. I saw her future with these sightless eyes of mine; I warned her that your love would bring nothing but suffering..." _Really, a fortune told? _"...but it seems love proves stronger than any boundaries, that not even death is different. She returned out of these strong emotions, but Master Itachi, if you do such things, then the spirit will drain you of your life. You are on the brink of death."

Fugaku growled through his teeth, but now it was Sakura's turn to let him have it. "You have no right to be angrier than all of us. Go ahead and cut me down while you're at it," she challenged when she saw his hand go to one of his swords, but Sasuke knew he wasn't going to go through with it. As they were all witnesses, his father would be forced to commit ritualistic suicide for such an atrocity.

Itachi coughed, covering his mouth with his hand. "Pl-please, be quiet and cease this s-squabbling," he rasped, accepting the cup of tea from Sakura who then told him to take it easy and rest, but then the priest had to give strict instructions, since they all knew the ghosts would be back tonight.

"There are three more nights to go with the festival. You have to set up every paper rite to the house, so that the spirits can't get in. But tonight, you should take her out and find a body of water...then see her true face in the reflection."

~o~

He didn't even want to believe a word of this; he couldn't. His beloved was alive and well, because he felt her, tasted her, and conversed with her. He thought the nighttime meetings were necessary, but the priest had told him he should have seen the signs...

His strength had all but felt depleted when his brother, father, future sister-in-law and her mother, as well as the new priest he was just meeting - who was just traveling the village for services before moving on - burst into his room, made him get dressed, and then dragged him back to the healer's residence for his medical treatment.

Itachi felt himself slowly regaining his energy, but he was on doctor's orders to rest for the day. Bitterly - and with a heavy heart - he couldn't even stop thinking about what everyone told him...especially his father whom he hated more than ever and felt betrayed by IF it were true.

Both Izumi and her mother were _dead_.

_Dead and back as _spirits.

Part of him was inclined to accept it because he subconsciously ignored that the women visited only at night until early dawn, and that their return coincided with Obon. He ignored so much, even that she didn't talk much about what happened while she was away...and when he healed a little bit that day, he was supported by his brother and Sakura as they, along with the old woman, the priest, and of course his monster of a father, made way to the outside of the village boundaries to a clearing in the woods. It was there that he was showed a horrible sight which made his heart fall into his stomach.

There were two epitaphs, and the names were as he hoped he wouldn't see: _one for Hazuki, and the other...Izumi._

_And by Izumi's marking: a broken, faded lantern painted with camellias. _

Itachi wished that this was only a dream that he would wake up from - a horrid dream. He wanted to believe that the woman he loved was alive and well, that what they had was stronger than anything, because he had lost the will to live when she was gone...

...and half of him felt destroyed all over again.

_She was gone - because of the man called Father - and she came back because of ME. According to the stories, those who died with strong emotions come back, but for the most part, it's out of anger, sadness and even revenge. _

The nights they made love - they drained him day by day. Having such moments with the dead...it made him sick all over again, but maybe not as much as knowing his father had destroyed both their lives.

He was certain that she and her mother would eventually turn their attentions to the man responsible, but it also meant he had no choice but to do as the priest instructed him. Tonight, when she came, he would take her out for a change and see her reflection in the water.

_But why didn't I see her ugliness beneath that beauty I remember in life?_

Perhaps because he was so blinded by love, or maybe it was something else. For all he knew, she didn't know how she looked, either, or else she wouldn't even be brave enough to be with him. It made him feel all the more hollow, wondering if life was worth living anymore if the one you loved was taken from you, which was what happened to his father, and there was no hope for the man.

Love could really change you, make you into a different person altogether. Make you do things you never thought possible.

When night finally came, he held his breath and retained the air that she and her mother knew, and mustered up the will to announce they were going out to the nearby pond. They both looked surprised but gladly agreed.

~o~

To his brother, the women were beautiful as they were in life; for him and the others, they were rotting shells of what they had been.

Sasuke was with the priest while Sakura and her mother had to go home, and his father was elsewhere. He wouldn't be surprised if the bastard was drinking away his worries or something.

There the three of them were, and this was the blind priest's chance to perform the rites while Itachi had the skull-like women distracted; at this moment now, his brother was kneeling down as a natural means to look closely at the lanterns, at the reflection which was normal as the littlest things around them made the difference...but when he saw their true selves, he gasped in visible horror and jolted to his feet.

Unfortunately, the exorcism never got to be completed, as the ghosts escaped, and Itachi had to run back to the house, which meant Sasuke had to return with him. He expected the spirits to return the rest of the night, but it never happened at once. _They come because they expect him ALONE._

Now it was decreed that Itachi be in the house, surrounded by seals from the outside and inside, to keep the spirits out. They wouldn't be able to get in. "There are two more nights of the festival, so please remain inside and do NOT answer her pleas, regardless of your feelings, Itachi."

Seeing his brother like this made him feel hollow, because he knew what it was like to love someone, so he feared losing Sakura if it ever came to that. The flower she was named after was a reminder of how blissful but short and tragic life was. It was up to all of them to make the most of it. But for Itachi, one of Konoha's finest samurai and heir to their clan, he had been rendered helpless by his heart, and since he'd always been there for the younger, Sasuke was going to do the same this way.

_When Obon is over and she's gone back to the netherworld, it means he will have no choice but to marry Ino Yamanaka - Sakura's childhood friend, before the family separated them based on class restrictions. It will mean Itachi will never really recover, and suicide is always the way out of these things...especially for women who don't want to be with men they don't love, or no longer love._

He and Sakura were out again that night, while the priest was performing the rites against the ghosts of Izumi and Hazuki - mother and daughter who were once near and dear in life despite social differences - while Itachi had no choice but to spend the same night praying on his end.

Sakura sat with him and held his hand as they were in the teahouse that night, though he enjoyed only the green tea and rice dishes since he didn't have a sweet tooth. "Don't worry, darling. I'm praying for your brother, too. Just two more nights of this, and it's over."

Somehow, his heart disagreed altogether even though he fought against it.

~o~

He had nightmares ever since seeing the SKULL FACES in the water, and their contortions in pain and terror when the rites and paper sutras touched their faces. He wanted so much to disbelieve, but the evidence was weighed heavily.

The hideous reality made the sweet memories - as well as those touches they exchanged - a disease to his insides. Except no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shove down these eternal emotions. It was exactly as his mother used to say: a cherished feeling that couldn't be suppressed no matter what, and not even death could destroy it.

But still, to see that wretched face which was the opposite of the illusion of beauty...

The next night passed with such misery, and his heart was tugged on each moment that passed when HER voice pleaded with him to let her inside, because she couldn't get in, begged him to be with her again, and even went far to ask him if what they had in life meant nothing, as well as what they had the last several nights.

Hazuki even took it upon herself with this: "I am here to make sure you and my daughter are never again deprived of your happiness. You both swore nothing would separate you again."

Finally, he took no more then and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"The Izumi I pledged my life to was from another life! I blame my father for what he did to you, but I wish there was a way to go back in time and reverse it. But...every night we shared, I was drained more and more each day. All I wanted was you, but I neglected everything else important in life, including my duties AND my brother." He'd held his breath for a moment before finishing.

"And I'll never forget seeing your true face in the water. That's what you really are now, even if you are still the Izumi I knew. We can't be together the way we used to."

_And everyone around me has made it clear to never abandon the living for the dead. I used to agree, and yet..._

He heard her voice no more, and he believed that she had gone and left, before exhaling with relief and going to sleep that night.

The next day, he was awoken by Sasuke who told him to get outside with him and the other villagers who were gathering around a horrendous sight that plagued them on the second to last day of the ancestors' festival. He heard himself gasp just as loudly as Sakura did. Tsunade growled in her throat, muttering without shame that it was karma.

His father, Fugaku Uchiha, was dead. He was up in those dying trees, impaled on branches and bleeding out his mouth. The expression on his face was that of unforgettable horror, as if he'd seen something too terrifying to survive. In his heart, Itachi knew what had happened to him.

Izumi and her mother had taken care of him themselves. It must have happened last night after he rejected her. Part of him was elated since that was one less issue - though it felt like a sin since the man sired him and his brother. All he had were few good memories, as the brothers were raised by their mother most of the time, and the few times they ever saw Fugaku was when he would come home to train them, or hear about the progress with his sons.

Class aside, the man should have known what it was like to LOVE someone. Parents would know better than anyone, and he should have said yes to marrying Izumi.

If he had Izumi, then none of this would have happened. He should have foreseen what Fugaku was going to do, then ask his beloved and her mother to run away and hide until he returned, and only Sasuke would know and tell his brother.

On the next to final night of Obon, he was home alone and drunk, but his brain was free from the confides and with a clearer rationale than he would have had while sober. _She may be a hideous skeleton beneath, but she is still Izumi. I still smell her the same way, I know she never means harm; the afterlife made her the way she is now, and the same goes with her mother. They were both wronged, and no matter how much I wish I could go back and change it myself, nothing will ever be in stone. _

_But I will no longer go through life without her. _

With that - and upon hearing his name being called again on the other side of the door - his loosened heart and mind allowed him to open the sealed doors of the Uchiha house so he could make eye contact with the spirit of the woman who would have been his wife. Behind her was Hazuki with the glowing lantern that her daughter made with her own hands, symbolizing the most passionate love there was and the honorable death of samurai.

If he were to imagine his own end, it was something far more peaceful than taking his own life or dying by an enemy's hand.

~o~

Sasuke Uchiha felt numb to his core, and holding his soon-to-be wife's hand warmed him only a little bit. He had believed that they could save his brother, but the next morning when he went back to the house, Itachi was missing. The alarm bell went off and made him dash out of the bedroom, shouting for the servants to help him with the hunt.

He had a terrible feeling all the time and mentioned the idea when no one in the village had seen Itachi anywhere...except one elderly woman had recalled seeing him head out towards the forest, and that was where the group rushed - only to come across the grave sites of Izumi and Hazuki, but it wasn't solely the epitaphs and the broken camellia lantern. Sakura had uttered a gasp of horror and turned to bury her face into his chest. Some of the other women did the same while others were brave to look at the nightmarish image that would haunt them for a long time to come, and for those who would learn of this, the story would be passed on through the ages to come.

At the base of Izumi's epitaph lay the nude corpse of his brother, entwined with the skeleton of a woman with long woodland hair...bearing an expression of peace and content rather than agony. And Itachi was not only pale as a ghost, but there were gray areas which cracked like old stones.

_Oh, God, brother, you chose a dead woman over your living loved ones. Now I have no close family left...except Sakura and what few friends here. I suppose if we were in your position, I would have chosen to do the same. _

He felt like he was moving on his own, going to kneel right behind Itachi's body, feeling the lightest weight within his own, and certain that his heart had stopped beating in its tracks. He squeezed his eyes shut; he struggled to not cry his heart out in front of these villagers, which was one of many lectures from his late father. But Fugaku's words mattered not to him now.

"G-Give him proper cremation and services - BOTH of them. And have his epitaph placed next to hers, with the ashes scattered here," he demanded hoarsely, standing on his wobbling legs, nearly falling atop his pink-haired woman who was shedding some tears herself. She whispered to him that she was with him on this, she'd never leave him, and that his brother was with the woman he loved. It was also time to do the one thing they had to that night, after the services were taken care of.

The three lanterns were lit and then sent across the river, bearing the names of his brother, the lover and her mother.

Watching them disappear, Sasuke whispered his prayers and hoped he would reunite with them both someday, and that his woman would be with them.

_But in this life, how much longer will I have to endure a loss like this?_

~o~

_Present Day_

The cherry blossoms were swaying in the sweet breeze, petals flying about. Camellias in every color were in bloom, and pink moss covered rocks and portions of the ground.

Beneath one of the trees was a young couple who were so passionately in love and alive, enjoying a fine picnic they put together. The young woman was in a flowing dress fresh as a spring bouquet, with buttery yellow, exquisite orange, fresh green and a bit of her favorite enchanting purple; her long, chocolate-colored hair was tied behind her neck with a lacy cloth. Her man was in a black t-shirt and torn jeans, long black hair in a ponytail as well. She fed him herself, then teased him by putting something else between her lips - like a ball of dango - and tempted him to try and get it, ending with them rolling off their spot and onto the grass, laughing and playfully tackling.

Just when she had him at her mercy, her legs spread out and hugging his hips, he managed to gasp out her name just as he was reaching into his pocket. "Izumi?"

"Mm, Itachi?" And then he had it before her eyes, making them widen and a squeak leave her lips. Behold, the most stunning ring she'd ever seen: swirling, sweet metal placed with a small, natural amethyst which was enhanced by leaves of white stones. _Delicate and decadent at the same time. _

Itachi Uchiha asked Izumi Miyazaki to marry him on a day as perfect as this, just like his brother had chosen Sakura; they were so happy that they were going to tell all their friends and then shamelessly blow up their social media with the news.

**It was an intention to make the ending like the original legend, which is the Otogi Boko version (see Wiki for more information), and then finish with a reincarnation in the modern era. This is similar to the late 90s film, in which the lovers are happily together. :) **

**So to be clear once more: the final scene is reincarnation, with Itachi and Izumi having their happy ending which was deprived of them in their previous life. As the saying goes, not even DEATH can destroy love between two people. **

**It was so fun and saddening to do this story, but that said and done, reviews appreciated once more, and Happy Halloween!**


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